


Nileo Drabble Collection

by MogmaMittens



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Cuddling, Drabble Collection, Eye Trauma, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, King Leo, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Tickling, good parenting, it's not explicit, kind of, only a little bit, the deeprealms are still a thing unfortunately
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-06 01:43:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6732910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MogmaMittens/pseuds/MogmaMittens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of (usually 1000 word or less) nileo drabbles from my tumblr. Feel free to send in more prompts at any time!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prompt: For You Alone, I Am Weak

Call him what you will, Leo believed in one thing above all else: power. Not that he was some crazed megalomaniac, bent on human destruction, no, he just... _craved_ control. He needed it. It was one of the few things that made him feel sane.

And then there was Niles.

Niles, whose dark past lays concealed behind layers of risque, self absorbed behavior.

Niles, who stayed with him when the sun was dim and there were tears streaming down his face, screams torn from his throat.

Niles, who watches as he hides the half-moons underneath his eyes with big hands that smooth down the bedclothes over his shoulders.

With Niles, there was no such thing as _power._ Niles made him feel helpless, _completely defenseless,_ and yet... safe. At home. _Warm._

That's how he found himself then, as usual for this ritual: completely weaponless, no tomes in sight – entirely vulnerable while he went through various forms and papers. Niles sat across the room, nose buried in something that Leo had no doubt was filthy, feet propped up on a side table.

A slow intake of breath, and then, “Lord Leo?”

“Yes, Niles?”

“I must ask,” a pause, perhaps to collect his thoughts, “why is it that you allow me to see you like this? I could strike you down and no one could stop me. I'd be gone before even Odin caught on. Why?”

Leo took pause at that, pen stalling where it was on the paper. 

“Would you?”

“Of course not, my lord! I was just saying--” 

“That's why.”

“What?”

“I choose to be unprotected in front of you, Niles, not because you _could_ hurt me, but because you _wouldn't_ hurt me. If anything, I trust in this. For you alone, I will be weak.”

“Lord Leo--”

“Hush. I will hear no more of this tonight.”


	2. Prompt: I Cannot Keep You, And I Cannot Let You Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was, quite frankly, ridiculous.

It was supposed to be a quick and dirty affair – in both meanings of the word. Niles was his _retainer,_ for Gods' sake! He was supposed to be protecting him, not... whatever this was. Absurd as it was, what would his father have thought? The kind, gentle man his brother had grown up with, not the beast they all had faced on the battlefield. If he was being honest with himself, Camilla wouldn't care one way or another, but what would _Xander_ think?

He was supposed to take a _wife,_ a concubine at the _very least,_ not... Niles.

Wartime romances weren't particularly uncommon, as it was. Hot, sweaty flings in too-tight tents that didn't mean anything once everyone went home to their families. Of course, feelings sometimes got involved, and of course, Leo was one of those people who just _couldn't_ stay detached. It was strange, almost, considering how aloof he'd always been – no one had been good enough for him, everything had just been fake, stale, _boring,_ a ploy to boost his ego – but then there was Niles, who trampled into his life through a window and turned it upside-down. 

It was, quite frankly, ridiculous.

Now, that's not to say that they didn't have _fun,_ just. You know. They were back at Krakenburg now, and it was strange. They weren't in a dark tent or behind the mess hall, or in some lake in the middle of nowhere, this was... this was _home._ It was different, now. Slower. _More intimate._ Just the thought of that alone was terrifying, if he was being honest, but because it was Niles? Well. His heart shouldn't have been beating as fast as it was at the thought of being taken apart over and over again. 

When they were finally caught and word spread through the grapevine, it only got worse. It's not like everyone wasn't _accepting,_ no, it wasn't anything like that. In fact, everyone was rather happy for them – even going as far as saying they saw it coming, to which Leo replied with a rather indignant look on his face – save for the general public. 

Apparently, princes _weren't_ supposed to be with anyone who could endanger the royal bloodline. That included (if you were male) other men, and those who were unable to bear children. Of course, this wasn't _technically_ a law, and his and Niles' relationship (is that what it was?) wasn't _technically_ illegal, but the public outcry was like a death sentence all on its own. 

“We need to stop this.” Leo said against Niles' mouth, his voice tight, fists held firmly at his sides. Niles' breath skated across his face, faster, hitched, then slowed to an even pace.

“Ah. Finally come to your senses, have you?” His hands are shaking when they reach up (to brush the hair from his face, Leo's mind supplies,) then stop halfway, dropping to his sides in a gesture mirrored to his own. “I suppose I can't blame you.”

“You know that's not what I meant.” He sighs, releasing the tension in his arms. He couldn't do this. He _couldn't_ do this. “I'm a prince, you know that.”

“Of course you are, Lord Leo. I couldn't expect any more than being your dirty little secret.” when Leo took his hands he winced, and he nearly expected Niles to pull away. “I just... did not anticipate such tenderness.”

“You were never my _'dirty little secret,_ '” he spat the words like they were poison, eyes narrowing into slits. “I would've proudly told everyone if not for the political fallout. Do you understand me?” 

“No, milord, I think you'd be better off whispering it in my ear.” Niles grinned like a fox, leaning in for another kiss, which Leo reluctantly returned. Another defense mechanism.  
_Of course._

He presses their foreheads together, taking a moment to recollect himself. He was there for a _reason._ He couldn't be broken so easily. 

“I cannot keep you,” he murmurs mournfully, his breath mingling with his soon-to-be-past lovers'. “Yet I cannot let you go.”

“If I may be so bold, my lord,” Leo frowns at the habit he never broke, and their eyes meet for a moment before Niles' blues lock onto his lips. _“Don't.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send me more prompts at [my tumblr!](http://www.alista1r.tumblr.com/ask)


	3. Prompt: Raising Their Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina and Forrest have bathtime. Author struggles to write small children.

Corrin never wanted children. At least, not yet – she was locked up in a castle all her life, for Heaven's sake! She didn't know the first thing about _parenting._ Leave that to Camilla, thank you very much.

So, she thought, it was rather lucky that when she gave birth to a pair of (absolutely lovely, but not for her) twins, she was infinitely relieved when it turned out that Niles and Leo were willing to take them. More than willing, in fact. If she had to put a word to it, she'd say they were ecstatic, honestly. 

 

Whatever floats their boat, really.

–

Leo had only fallen in love three times in his life. The first was Niles, who supported him through good times and bad: after his father had died, after Xander ascended the throne, through _everything._

Then, there was Forrest and Nina, the two loves of his life.

Corrin had gifted them to him during the war, and while it wasn't exactly an opportune time to raise a child, they made due. With the promise that they could see their children _“Every day we're not fighting, I swear!”_ they reluctantly sent them off to the deeprealms to spend their days.

Neither Leo nor Niles were happy about the situation, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and what else could they do? Raise children in a war zone? No, the only option was to keep them in the deeprealms where they could be safe, so off they went. Of course, they did visit every day, and of course, every day their children were bigger and bigger. It was _unnerving_ to say the least, but Niles and Leo loved them nonetheless.

Weeks passed, and they kept their promise: visiting their children every day. By now they'd become toddlers, waddling around on chubby legs and babbling nonsense words and phrases.

If he was being honest, watching Niles be a father was the sweetest damn thing he'd ever seen.

Leo was bathing Forrest currently, who was splashing around in the bath as he watched this scene unfold:

“Come now, sweet girl,” Niles said – an attempt to coerce Nina into getting in after her brother – which could only turn out poorly, if Leo thought about it too hard. “Don't you want to get clean? Your brother is almost done, and then you can splash around _all_ you want!” 

“Catch me if you can!” Nina giggled, climbing over the table in the center of the room and running into a different part of the house, leaving her father to trip over the coffee table in the commotion of it all.

_“Shit, shit, gods-”_

Suddenly, a gasp.

“Daddy, you're not supposed to say _those_ kinds of words!”

Leo snorted. Of course Niles was being chastised by his daughter. His _five year old_ daughter.

“Papa, look at me!” Forrest caught his attention again when he smeared bubbles across his face, giggling all the while. Leo smiled at this, the corners of his eyes crinkling whilst he prepared a warm towel and set it out beside the tub.

“I see you, I see you. Wash that off so we can get your sister in there, hm?” Forrest nodded, letting his father wash the suds off with a washcloth and then lift him out. “There we go, all clean.”

“All clean!” He laughed, shrugging on the offered towel with a grin before running off to play with his other father, who greeted him with a hand in the hair and a,

“Well, why don't we get you some clothes, yeah?” Forrest nodded enthusiastically at that, his too-long hair sticking to his face and dripping down his shoulders. “Come on, Nina, off to your bath.”

“You _can't_ make me! I'll tell papa!”

“I'm sure you will,” he deadpanned, kneeling down to her level, “why don't you go ahead and tell him right now?”

“I will!” She huffed, marching off into the bathroom where Leo was ready and waiting for her.

“Papa, daddy is trying to make me get in the _bath!”_ she cried.

“Oh, no. Is that so?”

“Yeah! He said I'll get all dirty if I don't!” She frowned up at him, arms crossed over her tiny chest. 

“Well, your dad has a point, and he'll be very sad if you don't take a bath. Plus, didn't you see how much fun Forrest had?”

“...Yeah.” Her frown lessened some, and she looked over to the full tub and sighed exaggeratedly. “I _guess_ I'll take a bath. But only so daddy doesn't get sad!”

“Thank you, Nina.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send me prompts at [my tumblr!](http://www.alista1r.tumblr.com/ask)


	4. Prompt: The Crown Hangs Heavy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo can't take the weight of this all alone.

It's cold at night, alone in his castle.

 

It should have never been _his._ That was _wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong._ It should have been _Xander's,_ his responsibility, his liability, his _life._

 

But no.

 

It was his now. His crown – like a brand, heavy upon his head. His crown, thrown on the floor in a fit of rage.

 

It lay in the corner of his room, now, the wrought iron matte against the dim lantern light.

 

His chest heaved, hands running through already messy hair – _it had always been so perfect before –_ as he paced the room. It was too hot, too hot, _too hot._

 

Oh gods, his lungs ached. His _heart._

 

His breaths were coming fast now, salty tears rolling unbidden down his cheeks. He tried to crawl into bed – too big for him, this wasn't his room, this wasn't _his_ room – only to feel suffocated by the sheets warming against his skin.

 

He sat on the floor, then, the stone tile cool and calming against his face.

 

That's when someone decided to knock on the door.

 

Leo hiccuped and let out another, albeit softer, sob, unwilling to let anyone see him like this.

 

“Lord Leo?” Another knock. It was Niles, obviously, who else would it be? Who else wanted to know the new king for reasons that weren't purely political? Odin had left shortly after the war, Camilla was off doing who-knows-what with her children, Corrin was... Corrin was gone. Everyone was gone.

 

“If you want me to leave, milord, I – “

 

“No, Niles,” he sniffled, repressing the urge to stop talking and _breathe, breathe, breathe,_ sitting up and dabbing at his eyes with the back of one hand. “You may come in.” His shoulders shook at the strain of keeping himself up, a sob breaking from the back of his throat.

 

Niles couldn't believe what he was seeing. His king, nearly doubled over before his bed, face patchy and flushed, pink all the way up to his ears.

  
“What is it?” he said, softly, voice breaking halfway through the sentence. He whimpered, a quiet, strangled noise, and then sniffled. “Well?”

 

“Are you all right?” He took one step forward, then two, kneeling down so they were level. “Not that you have to tell me, of course, if not I'll just be on my way.”

 

Leo stared up at him with scrutiny in his bloodshot eyes, then relaxed, all the tension leaving his shoulders at once as they slumped forward.

 

“I wasn't meant to be the king, Niles.” He said, small, as if this were the first time admitting it to himself as well as the first time aloud. “Xander wasn't meant to die, I...” he took a shaky breath, hanging his head between his knees.

 

“Lord Leo,” Niles began, only for Leo to cut him off.

 

“ _Don't._ Don't call me that. Not now.”

 

“ _Leo,_ is this better?” he slings an arm around the king's shoulders, his other hand resting on one of Leo's knees. “Come here.”

 

_I've made a horrible mistake, I've --_ it all went quiet, suddenly, when he was pulled – granted, uncomfortably – against Niles' chest.

 

“I shouldn't be allowing you to see me like this, you know.” A kiss, pressed to the back of his neck.

 

“If not me, then who else?”

 

“A fair point.” Leo laughed humorlessly, head coming up to rest against the hollow of Niles' neck. He was still blinking away tears, breath coming in pants.

 

“Come now. With me, yes?” Niles' hands took residence on both of their chests, one arm still hooked over Leo's shoulder, the other free. “In, then out.”

 

“I _can't.”_ Leo's hand grabbed Niles' and squeezed, his chest moving rapidly beneath it.

 

“You _can.”_ Another kiss, this time to the side of his head. “With me, Leo.”

 

He nodded, refocusing his efforts to slowing his breathing.

 

“There we go, there we go. You're doing so well.” Niles kissed his cheek this time, lips lingering a bit longer than what was truly necessary. “Come on, sweet boy, let's get you in bed.”

 

“When did you become my mother?” Leo squeezed Niles' hand once more before releasing it, stretching his arms out in front of him.

 

“I apologize, milord, that wasn't my intention.”

 

“No, don't... don't apologize. I like you more than I did her. Either way, I don't mind.” He said, voice weak from overuse. Yawning, he stood, knees creaking beneath him as he turned and began to crawl into bed. “Well?”

 

“Hm?” Niles looked up from his spot on the floor, confusion written all over his features.

 

“Aren't you coming?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send me more prompts at [my tumblr!](http:/www.alista1r.tumblr.com/ask)


	5. Prompt: "Who’d have guessed you could pull such a face?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow day! Kind of.

The northern regions of Hoshido were, for lack of a better term, fucking freezing year round.

 

This usually wasn't an issue for Leo, considering he was _Nohrian,_ and therefore hardly visited Hoshido, but during a war? Well, you end up in a lot of unpleasant places. A lot of _very_ unpleasant places. Like, for example, an icy gods-damned tundra where the only landmarks around were battlefields.

 

Like he said, not pleasant.

 

Of course, that's not to mean there aren't _bright sides,_ because there _are –_ when you have a retainer who just so happens to be a walking stove, off the top of his head.

 

Sharing tents was something new that Leo had learned to deal with when they went to war with the Hoshidans. Two to a tent, usually more, sometimes less, depending upon where they were camped out. Tonight, they happened to have excess tents from a supply station they passed around a week ago, so – _Thank the Gods –_ Leo only had to share with one person.

 

Said person tucks his head into the tent with a sigh, the magically-reinforced heat of the enclosure beginning to melt some of the snow from his hair. “Milord Leo, must you keep it so warm? I'm sure I'll melt _myself_ before the night is over.”

 

“Oh, get over it.” Leo replies from beneath his mass of blankets. It was _cold._ Niles had no right to barge in and demand he lower the temperature.

 

“Ooh, you're grumpy.” Niles flops down on the burlap floor, legs stretched out in front of him. “You took a rather difficult fall today. Are you alright?” He asks seriously, peeling layers of blankets back to reveal Leo's body.

 

“I'm fine,” he waves Niles' hands away, shivering as the cold air pierces his skin. “Would you stop that?”

 

“Stop what?” Niles smiles at him, innocent as he possibly could while running a hand across Leo's side. Leo gestures at his hand, eyebrow raised incredulously. “Oh, that? Milord, you _must_ be more specific.” He swings a leg over so he's straddling Leo (and the remaining blankets), running his hands up and down Leo's ribs.

 

“The tents are too close, if we...” He screws up his face into a frown, grabbing Niles' wrists and holding them down.

 

“You dirty little thing! You misunderstand my intentions!” Niles breaks free of Leo's grasp, poking and prodding at his sides. Leo gasps, arching his back away from Niles' fingers that refuse to pause. He laughs, then, restrained – he's got a hand over his mouth which Niles pries away with a condescending tut.

 

His laughter crescendos louder, and Leo is sure that everyone can hear them by now, sure of what they're doing – not that what they're doing is especially _bad._

 

Niles backs off slowly, his assault ending at the center of his stomach where he's the most sensitive. “Who'd have guessed that you could pull such a face?” He laughed, rolling off of Leo with a contented exhalation of breath. “Are you feeling any better now?”

 

“Well, I'm definitely feeling warmer.”

 


	6. Prompt: Leo Loses an Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:  
> If you like leo/niles angst how about leo losing an eye (or both) and is increasingly worrying about how he's even more useless and niles is trying to comfort him because he KNOWS how it is to suddenly lose your sight (even if it is just in one eye)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't even edit this im very tired and i have therapy tomorrow i die

Any good sorcerer knows how to _aim._ It's simple, but necessary. You can't just throw out approximations and expect them to hit, let alone hit _well,_ it just doesn't _work_ like that.

 

So that's why, when Leo lost his right eye, it was such a big deal.

 

It wasn't even during a _battle._ Someone had hit him with an errant dagger during _practice,_ so he'd gone to the medic, and got it wrapped up. It hurt like the heavens, but he was assured it'd be fine, he'd be able to take the bandages off permanently in a couple of weeks. He was given some medicine to rub on it and some spare bandages to change out, no big deal.

 

Then came the infection.

 

He was stuck in bed for a week, his eye burning so bad he wanted to rip it from his skull, fever lighting his body like fireworks. The medic had told him to wait it out, that the salve they gave him to put on his eye would be fine, that the dark, blurred vision was _normal._

 

Leo made sure the medic was shooed off – out of the country, that is – shortly after the bandages came off, lest he face more dire consequences. (Niles was gone for a few hours after that, and came home bloody. Leo didn't ask.)

 

Leo couldn't see. _He couldn't see._

 

His right eye was completely _useless._

 

Through his own morbid curiosity he knew how it looked, bent over the vanity with a scrutinizing look on his face – it'd nearly be the same if not for the long, pale scar bisecting the iris – and it was the same curiosity that had him knocking on Niles' door shortly after, head dropped in shame.

 

“Milord Leo,” Niles began, stepping out of the way as Leo invited himself in, sitting himself down on Niles' bed. “I thought you wanted to be alone?” He had ordered him and Odin away, after all.

 

“I can't see.”

 

“I know.” Niles kneels before him, dipping his head to look into Leo's eyes. “Does it still hurt?”

 

“No.” Leo mumbles, voice toneless. “It just burns a bit from the aftereffects of the infection. I don't think it's supposed to.” Leo pauses, his hands tightening into fists on Niles' bedsheets. “I wasn't supposed to lose my vision, either.”

 

“Well, look at the silver lining, eh?” Leo glares down at him. “We can carve out Odin's eye, then we'll all be matching. Perhaps we'll even start our own fashion trend!” _If looks could kill..._ “Alright, I get it.” Niles heaves a sigh, dragging himself up next to Leo. “Are you alright, milord?”

 

“What do you think?” He replies aggressively, looking up at Niles of his own volition for the first time. “I've lost my eye, Niles! I thought you, of all people, would know how I feel.”

 

“I don't know how you feel because I am not _you,_ Milord.” he gathers Leo up into his arms, pliant despite his angry words. “I _am_ doing my best to help you, you must believe me.”

 

“I know.” He sniffs, “I can't fight anymore, Niles.” He looks up at Niles, who nods solemnly.

 

“I understand, milord. I couldn't shoot straight for months after losing my eye.”

 

“How do you do it?” His voice is full of anguish, the thought of having to give up fighting – the one way he can truly _prove himself_ to his siblings other than academics – a horrifying thought.

 

“Practice.” He laughs humorlessly. “A lot of practice.”

 

“I see.”

 

A long pause.

 

“Is there anything I can do for you, milord?” Leo takes a moment, tucking his head into the crook of Niles' neck.

 

“Lay back.” Niles hums and complies, letting Leo rearrange him as he saw fit before retaking his place in Niles' neck. Niles wraps both his arms around Leo's back, rubbing his hands down the tense muscle.

 

Niles falls asleep like that, one of his hands buried in Leo's hair and the other beside them on the bed. Leo snorts affectionately when he realizes, nuzzling his head into Niles' neck.

 

He drifts off as well not long after, his eye being the farthest thing on his mind.

 

**Author's Note:**

> send me more prompts at [my tumblr!](http://www.alista1r.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
